Silver and Black
by A Sirius Crush On Moony
Summary: The Black family are vampires. Sirius hates werewolves and would do anything to see a werewolf dead. He finds a werewolf at Hogwarts, and has sworn to kill it, but little does he now that this werewolf actually happens to be Remus Lupin. AU vampire!Sirius, Sirius/Remus slash
1. Prologue

**Hey guys, this idea has been in my head for a while. I hope you like it :)**

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**SILVER AND BLACK  
**_**Prologue**_

He ran fast through the overgrown grass, feeling the wind whip his face. Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply, taking in the various smells around him. Animals, nature, water.

He jerked his head towards the village of Hogsmeade and began walking downhill at a quick pace. The full moon hung above him in the night sky, glaring down at the world. When he reached the very edge of the village, he ran his hand through his hair to mess it up a little.

He stepped inside a small pub, called The Hog's Head. It was very quiet – just a few customers dotted around chatting amongst themselves. The drunk ones were chatting _to _themselves.

A young girl, probably no older than twenty, was sitting in the corner alone, reading the Daily Prophet and taking a sip from her cup. Sirius smiled and headed over to her. He stopped right in front of her table and snatched the newspaper away from her.

She looked up at him in anger. It seemed that she was about to yell at him, before her eyes glazed over as though she was in some sort of trance, and she stood up immediately, keeping her eyes on his. He took her hand and led her out of the door silently.

They walked back uphill, with neither of them uttering a single word to one another. He led her into a small cluster of trees. It was pitch black, so they couldn't be seen even if someone was standing just outside the trees they were in. Sirius stopped and sighed. He looked into her eyes, and then up to the sky, before looking back at her.

"I'm truly sorry," he whispered, before grabbing her tightly by the shoulders and lunging forwards to sink his teeth deep into her neck.

All that could be heard for miles was an ear-splitting scream.

**##**

Feeling fully satisfied by his meal, Sirius stepped out of the trees, wiping his mouth, and started walking back up towards the castle. He was in no rush, so he walked slowly, enjoying the feel of the cool wind blowing against his pale skin.

He passed an old shabby building. A gust of wind blew over him, and he picked up a familiar scent.

It was a smell he'd been specifically trained to recognise. It was a smell that he knew belonged to something horrible. A monster.

The smell of a werewolf.

He took a deep breath and then turned around to look at the Shrieking Shack. So this is why everybody assumed it was haunted. There could possibly be a werewolf in there.

Sirius could easily get inside. It would only take a second, and then he could check if it really was a werewolf.

Without any further hesitation, he headed towards the door to the broken house and pressed his ear against the wood. He could hear noises coming from inside and he was now positive that it could only be a werewolf inside.

Turning slightly, he rammed hard into the side of the house, creating a large hole in the wall. The house was dimly lit inside, with flickering lights, and the smell of werewolf was overwhelming. It was clear that this werewolf spent a lot of time in the shack.

He glanced around to see if he could find the beast, but it was nowhere to be seen. Cautiously, he peered through a door on the left of him, and it was there – standing in the corner.

Gleaming yellow eyes stared out at him, taunting him. It was huge. Maybe even double the size of him, and it had a dark brown fur covering it. The creature's teeth were bared, ready to attack.

Sirius closed the door quickly and turned to leave. Opposite him was another door, and he chose to go through it. It led to a long passageway, which he ran through. When he finally reached the end of the passage, he leapt out of a hole immediately above him, narrowly avoiding being hit by a thick branch of a tree...

The Whomping Willow.

Sirius stared up in awe. So that was why the Whomping Willow stood there – to protect students from that monster. He always wondered why such a dangerous tree stood on the grounds of a school. His eyes widened.

There was a _werewolf_ living in Hogsmeade. The werewolf had a passage leading to Hogwarts.

People weren't safe.

As he headed back up to the castle, he knew what he was going to do. Next full moon he was going back to the Shrieking Shack, but this time he would be prepared. This time he'd have a silver axe with him, and this time he wouldn't hesitate.

He would kill it.

**###**


	2. Day One (Sirius)

**Thank you for the reviews :)**

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**SILVER AND BLACK**

_**Day One**_

The Black Family were an old family. A family that went back for centuries. They started off as a normal pureblood magical family. Aristocratic and prejudiced, but relatively normal all the same.

Phineas Nigellus Black was out one day getting ingredients for a potion he was making, when he was attacked. He didn't know what it was that had attacked him, but it had left a nasty wound on his neck. He'd managed to grab his wand and blast the thing before it could hurt him more, and apparate to safety.

A day or so passed, and the wound began to heal. He decided it must have just been some sort of wild animal.

One morning he awoke to darkness. He went to sit up and banged his head on something. Feeling confused, he pushed up on the thing he'd hit his head on and realised with great horror that he was lying in a coffin. He pushed and pushed at the lid of the coffin, until he somehow managed to smash the marble. When he climbed out of the coffin, that was when it sunk in. Staring around at his surroundings – at his funeral, he realised with confusion that he had died.

But somehow he was still there.

* * *

**Sirius's POV;**

"Where have _you_ been?" James asked. His voice was laced with suspicion, as Sirius opened the door of the dormitory in the morning and walked into the room.

Sirius still hadn't managed to get the awful events of last night out of his head. He just couldn't believe that there was a werewolf nearby. _Hell_, he thought. _It could be anyone_. He shuddered at the thought that he could be sitting in class with the foul beast later today.

The main thing that was bugging him more than he cared to admit – even to himself, was that he had never noticed that a werewolf was living in Hogsmeade before now. Sirius went out every three nights to hunt. He wondered how he hadn't noticed before. He supposed he must have never been out on a Full Moon before.

Thinking of that as the only reason he'd never found the werewolf before, he felt slightly better. After all, he'd been trained since the age of two to recognise the smell. He was born for this kind of moment, and he was glad it had come. His family would be so proud of him.

Sirius glanced up at his best friend and shrugged. "I was just writing. I couldn't sleep."

"Are you an insomniac or something? You never seem to get any sleep," James said, scratching his head. From the corner, Peter sat up in his bed and yawned loudly.

"What's an issominac?" he asked tiredly, rubbing his eyes.

"An _insomniac_," Sirius corrected, rolling his eyes at his friend. "It means someone who has trouble sleeping. And no, James. I'm not."

"Want me to tell the teachers you're ill or something so you can sleep?" James asked, looking genuinely concerned.

Sirius fought back the urge to scream. He wished his friends would ignore his sleeplessness. He hated 'sleeping'. Seeing as vampires didn't sleep, most nights were very frustrating. To keep up the facade of being a normal mortal human being, Sirius needed to lie there for hours pretending to sleep, and it was unbelievably boring. He would go nuts if it wasn't for his hunting nights.

"No, it's okay," he said calmly. "I'll just get an early night tonight."

"Okay," James replied, tying his shoelaces. "Hey, Pete! Get up so we can go down for breakfast."

"M' gettin' up!" Peter muttered, flopping out of his bed and walking sleepily into the bathroom to shower.

"Look," Sirius said, feeling bored already. "I can't be arsed to wait for Pete. I'll meet you in the Great Hall. I need to speak to someone."

"Who?" James asked.

Sirius gritted his teeth as he tried to think up a lie. "Er, Slughorn. I left my, er, thing in his class yesterday."

James raised his eyebrows and sighed. "Fine," he said. "Just leave me alone with this slowcoach."

Sirius grinned at James and waved. "Thanks, mate."

Sirius headed down through the common room, stopping to wink at a couple of girls on the way past, who all blushed furiously. _If only they knew_, he thought with a smirk as he made his way through the portrait hole.

He walked fast through corridors of Hogwarts, as he didn't want to reach the Slytherin common room too late. It was freezing, and the stone walls seemed to make the cold bounce around the corridors. Sirius shivered.

It seemed he got to the Slytherin common room just in time, as the very person he wanted to talk to walked past, not noticing him. Sirius reached out and grabbed him, pulling him behind a statue.

"Sirius, what are you doing?" Regulus whispered furiously, brushing off his robes as if Sirius had contaminated them.

"I have some... news," Sirius said, feeling the excitement bubble up inside him as he thought of what his family's reaction would be.

"Go on," Regulus said, looking intrigued.

"I found one," Sirius said quietly. Regulus stared at him for a second.

"Huh?" he asked. He looked baffled.

"A werewolf!" Sirius whispered louder than he would have liked. "There's one living in Hogsmeade."

Regulus's mouth dropped open in shock. "Are you sure it's really a werewolf?"

"Yes! I saw it with my own eyes," Sirius said. "It's living in the Shrieking Shack. I'm going to head over there next Full Moon to kill the beast."

"Do you have a silver axe?" Regulus asked.

"I sent a letter to Mum and Dad earlier requesting one. I was wondering if you'd like to help me kill it?"

"Are you serious?!" Regulus said, his face lighting up. "You'd actually let me help?"

"Of course," Sirius said, smiling. "I wouldn't let my little brother miss out on something like this."

Regulus grinned. "Even though we hate each other?"

"Yes," Sirius laughed. "Even though we hate each other."

"Let me know what Mum and Dad say," Sirius said. "I asked if they could send an axe for you, too."

"Thanks," Regulus said, looking a mixture of grateful and excited. "I can't wait!"

"Me neither," Sirius admitted, his eyes glistening. "I'll see you later," he said, walking back towards the spiral stairs that led up to the main school.

**##**

Sirius was sitting at the back of his Transfiguration class, absent-mindedly transfiguring a toad into a goblet and staring out of the window. He'd mastered the spell years ago, but he didn't bother telling Professor McGonagall in case she gave him extra work.

James was sitting next to him, trying out the spell and succeeding most times. James had always been good at Transfiguration. Peter however, hadn't managed to transfigure the toad into anything more than a stick.

"At least you're actually transfiguring it," Sirius pointed out, as Peter stared at the stick miserably.

"Why are you so good at it?" Peter whined, staring at Sirius's transfigured toad with envy. Sirius could have sworn he actually saw Peter turn green.

"Well being a va-" he threw his hand over his mouth to stop himself from saying what he had almost let slip out. He let out a fake cough. "Being in a very traditional family," he said cautiously. "We learn this stuff at a young age."

Peter hadn't seemed to notice anything, and went back to practicing the spell. Sirius let out a sigh of relief. He couldn't believe he'd almost said it. If anyone was to find out that he was a vampire, he'd have hell to pay. Not just from the students and the teachers and the Ministry, but from his family too.

"Ah," Professor McGonagall said, looking towards the classroom door with a warm smile. "Welcome back, Mr. Lupin."

Sirius swivelled around in his seat to see his friend walking through the door of the classroom, looking weary. He took his seat opposite Sirius and gave him a weak smile.

"Hi," he croaked.

"Are you feeling alright?" Sirius asked. He couldn't understand why on Earth Remus always looked so ill and tired after his visits to the hospital to see his sick mother. He supposed it was just the trauma of seeing his mother in that state.

"I'm great," Remus said, forcing a smile. "What are we learning?"

"How to turn a toad into a stick," Peter said sarcastically, flinging his stick across the classroom in frustration. It hit the wall hard and dropped to the floor.

"PETER!" James said, looking horrified. "That's a toad! If that toad dies, you'll have its blood on your hands."

"Sticks don't bleed," Peter pointed out, rolling his eyes and retrieving the stick.

"How's your mum?" Sirius asked Remus, who was just taking his wand out. He could see the change in Remus's expression as the topic came up. It happened every time, and Sirius felt bad every time. Remus's face would go very pale and he would look upset. Sirius didn't mean to upset him, but he was hoping his mother would get better. He hated to see one of his best friends in this much pain all of the time.

"She's... the same," Remus said slowly, avoiding Sirius's eyes. "No change in her condition."

"I'm sorry," Sirius said, reaching out to touch his hand comfortingly. Remus looked up at him and smiled.

"Thanks," he replied weakly.

**##**

Sirius headed down through one of the secret passageways he and his friends had discovered the year previous, and he eventually found himself reaching the basement of Honeydukes sweet shop. He quietly sneaked up the stairs and creaked the door open slightly. Seeing that the coast was clear, he slipped through the door and attempted to look busy, browsing through the sweets.

He picked up a bar of Honeydukes finest chocolate and a blood pop, and took them to the counter, handing over his galleons to the man behind the counter.

"Thanks," he said to the man, smiling and leaving the shop. He brought the bar of chocolate up to his nose and scrunched it up in disgust. How could people eat this stuff? He would never understand humans. Or Remus, even. Remus was addicted to these things.

When it came to eating, vampires only needed blood to survive. They could eat human food, but it tasted strange to them. Sirius would eat with the rest of his friends to keep up his act, but most of the food he ate, he didn't find tasty.

Sirius opened his blood pop and slipped it into his mouth.

He waited a while outside Honeydukes, until he could see that the shop keeper was busy doing stock counts or something. Sirius slipped silently into the shop and snuck through the back to his trapdoor.

**##**

When Sirius entered the dormitory again that night after returning from Hogsmeade, James was already asleep, snoring annoyingly loud. Peter was nowhere to be seen – probably raiding the kitchens, and Remus was lying on his bed reading a book.

"You're back," Remus said as Sirius walked in.

"Yeah. Snuck into Hogsmeade."

"Why?" Remus asked suspiciously. Sirius sat down on the edge of Remus's bed and smiled warmly.

"To get you some chocolate of course," he replied, handing the chocolate bar to his friend, who took it excitedly.

"Thanks, Sirius," he said, opening the chocolate and offering Sirius some. Sirius shook his head of course, and Remus began eating.

"Just wanted you to feel better," Sirius said. "I hate seeing you like this."

Remus smiled again. "Thanks for caring. It means a lot."

"Anything for you, Rem."

Sirius hated to admit that he liked Remus the best. James was his best friend of course and Peter was great, but with Remus there was something more. The way Remus smiled at him and the way Sirius felt when Remus touched him...

Merlin, sometimes Sirius really believed he could be gay.

**##**

When Peter, James and Remus were sleeping that night, Sirius heard a light tapping on the window by his bed. He slid out of bed and tip-toed over to the window. His owl was sitting outside with a letter in its mouth. He opened the window quickly and removed the letter.

Feeling excited to read his parents' response, Sirius unfolded the letter:

'_Dear Sirius,_

_I was delighted when I received your letter. I am so proud that your Father and I have trained you so well to recognise that one of them is there. I am also disgusted that there is one living right near Hogwarts. It's extremely disturbing._

_Your Father will be dropping you and your brother off some silver axes tomorrow at 12pm outside the Hog's Head. Be there to collect them. He will shrink them so you can put them into your bags and you can make them bigger again at the Full Moon. _

_I can't wait to hear that my sons have killed the beast._

_As always, I love you and am so very proud._

_Your Mother._

_Xxx'_

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	3. Day Two (Remus)

**Hey everyone, sorry it's been such a long time! I've been extremely busy and well, had extreme writer's block. I'm back though :)**

**Thank you all for the amazing reviews!**

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**SILVER AND BLACK**

_**Day Two**_

John Lupin was a stubborn man. It was one of his worst traits. It always seemed to get him into trouble. Unfortunately, his stubbornness was what led to his five year old son, Remus, becoming a werewolf.

When John Lupin discovered that a trusted employee at the Ministry of Magic – Fenrir Greyback – was a werewolf, he threatened to expose him. He knew the beast would be locked away, and most probably sentenced to death. Greyback pleaded with him, but John's stubborn outlook on the how the world should be was too strong.

In order to protect himself, Greyback made his way to John's home on the night of a Full Moon. He allowed himself to transform into a wolf in hope that he would hurt John.

Remus was the one to pay for his father's mistake.

* * *

**Remus's POV;**

Remus's muscles still ached slightly from the Full Moon two nights ago, but it was just a dull ache. He hated the ache, but he also loved the feeling. It meant he had a long time till his next transformation.

What he hated the most about being a werewolf was the lying. He hated lying to people he cared about, and those people included his friends. Sirius, James, Peter and even Lily were under the impression that Remus went home to visit his sick mother in hospital every month.

In reality, his mother was fine. She wasn't in hospital and she wasn't sick. She was at home doing normal, healthy things. But Remus was afraid to tell his friends the truth. Every Full Moon, he would sneak out to the Whomping Willow, and head through the secret passageway to the Shrieking Shack where he would transform into a werewolf.

He would lie there helplessly as his bones cracked and his muscles expanded in ways that they shouldn't. He'd cry out in agony for hours and hours before his body finally transformed into a massive wolf. He'd lose his mind and rip himself apart with sharp claws because of the bloodlust.

But he didn't mind. Well, he _minded_, but as long as he wasn't hurting anyone but himself, he was as content as he could be given the situation.

He was on his way up to see Professor Dumbledore. His last Full Moon had terrified him. Somehow, someone had knocked down half of the wall in the Shrieking Shack. He couldn't remember a thing that happened in wolf-form, so he hated the dreaded feeling that he could have easily hurt whoever it was that had broken the wall, and he could have easily escaped and attacked half of Hogsmeade.

"Come in, Mr Lupin."

Remus shuffled through the door into Dumbledore's office. He smiled a weak smile at the professor and took his seat.

"What is it that you came to speak to me about?" he asked. "Sherbet Lemon?" he added, offering Remus a lemony Muggle sweet.

Remus shook his head and smiled politely. "No thank you," he said. "Professor, during my last transformation something happened.

"Oh?" Dumbledore looked worried.

"I don't think I hurt anybody or I would have heard about it by now," Remus added quickly, feeling his heart rate pick up in fear.

"What happened?"

"Well, when I woke up, I noticed that the wall of the Shrieking Shack had been bashed in from the outside," Remus said. "It couldn't have been me that did it, so I'm guessing somebody from the outside got in."

"That's not good," Dumbledore said, stroking his beard in thought. "Well, as you said, we haven't heard anything as of yet so that should mean that luckily you never hurt anyone. We will get the Shrieking Shack fixed, and we shall cast a protection spell for extra safety."

"Thank you, Professor."

"You're very welcome, Mr Lupin."

* * *

Remus headed to the Great Hall to see his friends for lunch. It was Saturday, so he was guessing that Peter wasn't even out of bed yet.

He saw Sirius and James sitting chatting animatedly at the far end of the Gryffindor table. Heading over, he smiled at the smile on Sirius's face.

He was madly in love.

Nobody knew that he was gay, and he intended to tell his friends, but just like telling them he was a werewolf, he was afraid of how they would react. Especially Sirius. Sirius was just... everything.

Remus sat down next to James, and reached out to grab a sandwich from the plate in front of them.

"Hey Rem," Sirius said with a grin. Remus literally felt his heart melt.

"Hey," he replied.

"You're looking better today," Sirius continued. "I guess the chocolate helped."

"Yes, thanks," Remus smiled.

"Guys, Lily's on her way over," James said, running his hand through his already messy hair. "How do I look?"

"You look so sexy with yoghurt caught in the crack of your butt-chin," Sirius said.

James furiously wiped away the yoghurt and flung a spoon at Sirius, who moved out of the way just in time.

"Peter still in bed?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, having dreams about Mary MacDonald, I'm guessing," Sirius winked.

Remus flushed at the wink and cleared his throat. "Peter's into Mary?"

"That's our suspicion," James said. "We'll keep you posted on whether it turns out to be true."

"Please do," Remus grinned.

"I also have my suspicions about you," James said, narrowing his eyes at Remus.

Remus's heart stopped. How could James know?

"You know, about who you're into."

_Phew_. Not the werewolf part

Remus laughed. "Keep guessing."

"Guys, I'll catch up with you later. I gotta meet my Father in Hogsmeade," Sirius said, grimacing.

"That sounds... fun?" James sniggered.

"Shut up, yoghurt boy," Sirius hissed, shaking his head and waving goodbye before leaving the Great Hall.

* * *

Remus and James entered the Gryffindor common room and sat down in the corner.

"So, my suspicion."

"Oh, c'mon James. You'll really never guess," Remus said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, really?

"Yes."

"Is that a challenge?"

"No," Remus replied.

"You are gay," James said, cocking his head to the side to examine Remus's response.

Remus's eyes widened and he spluttered, "wha-huh? How'd you guess?"

James grinned. "Knew it!"

Remus shook his head. "How on Earth did you guess that? I'm not _that_ obvious am I?"

"No, you're not," James said. "I'm just very observant."

Remus swallowed the lump that had appeared in his throat. If James was that observant, then he could easily discover Remus's other secret.

"You don't hate me now do you?" Remus whispered.

"Yeah, I hate you so much because you happen to have a thing for blokes. And one bloke in particular – our dear friend, Sirius."

Remus let his mouth drop open and he crossed his arms. "Okay, _how_ did you know that?"

"I told you," James grinned. "Just call me Mr Observant."

"Fine, you got me. Just don't tell Sirius, will you?" Remus asked. "You might be okay about it but I don't know how he feels about things like this."

"I'm sure he'll be fine with it," James said with a smile.

"Thank you, James."

"For what?" James asked.

"For being so supportive."

"Do me a favour and pass on to Lily how wonderfully supportive I am," James said. Remus rolled his eyes.

"Lovesick idiot."

"That makes two of us," James replied with a smile.

**###**


	4. Day Three (Sirius)

**I know, I know. Again, it's been _way_ too long. I'm trying to get back to continuing my older stories. I really enjoy writing this one, so hopefully I can get back to it properly now. Thank you all again for your continued support and reviews!**

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**SILVER AND BLACK**

**_Day Three_**

Sirius Black II and Cygnus Black were the first and third children of Phineas Nigellus Black respectively. Sirius, two years older had always been the one to have to listen to his father prattle on about the duty to the family. His younger brother was jealous, to some respect. They'd fight often, and Cygnus found it frustrating that Sirius should get all of the attention just for being born first.

It was agreed upon between Phineas and his wife, Ursula, that when their sons became a certain age, Phineas would inflict them with his vampirism.

The child in the middle of Sirius and Cygnus, Phineas II, was unhappy about the prospect of becoming a vampire. At the age of ten he made it abundantly clear that he found the thought of murdering innocent Muggles just for his own survival a very wrong way of life. His parents refused to acknowledge his view on the matter until he tried to put a stake through his father one night.

After the incident, Phineas II was locked away in the cellar while his family discussed his fate. Following much deliberation, they decided that the safest way to erase him from the family was to kill him.

Children could not simply say 'no' to the family tradition of vampirism, or they would be greeted by a bloody end.

Neither Sirius or Cygnus, or their younger siblings ever spoke of Phineas II again. As far as they were concerned, there had only ever been one Phineas in the Black family.

* * *

**Sirius's POV;**

Sirius had decided to keep the shrunken silver axes in his own room, in his trunk that was tucked underneath his bed. He didn't trust Regulus with such a thing. This would be their one chance to do something that future Black family members would talk about for centuries. This would be the beginning of their legacy. He couldn't risk anything that could jeopardise his plan.

He was sitting in his usual seat in the Defense Against The Dark Arts classroom, twirling his quill around between his fingers while he waited for the lesson to begin. Professor Dibble was still faffing around at the front of the room, dropping his paperwork on the floor and muttering to himself. It was a usual occurrence that everybody was used to.

Sirius turned to face Remus, who was sitting next to him. "Are you excited about the Christmas party?"

This year, Hogwarts would be holding a Christmas party for students and staff, which was something that they didn't usually do. It was supposed to be a formal party, in which people were to bring partners.

"Not really," Remus said. "I'm not much of a party person."

Sirius smiled. "I suppose. I can understand that. I wasn't much of a party person, but after having to go to so many with my family it's just become normal for me."

"And I'm sure we need to take dates," Remus continued. "I'm painfully single."

"So am I, but I'm still going," Sirius said with a shrug. "I could take anybody. Besides, I'd probably have one dance and then hang out with you guys. We could even smuggle in some Firewhisky."

Remus laughed. "That's the thing. You _could_ take anybody. I could never even find someone to say yes."

"You're wrong about that," Sirius said softly. "You're a catch."

Sirius watched Remus's cheeks turn pink. "I'm really not."

"Trust me," Sirius said. "You are."

"If you say so, Sirius," Remus replied. "We'll see who is standing alone at the party, then."

"Oh, yes. The lesson is beginning now," came Professor Dibble's mousy voice from the front of the classroom. "Turn to page… let's see… thirty-sever. Ah, yes. Come on, now. We are already running late because you were all chatting."

Sirius rolled his eyes at his teacher's incompetence and turned to page thirty-seven. He stared fixated at the page in front of him. It read _'VAMPIRES'_. He swallowed and tried to remain as calm as possible. He knew this day would come eventually, but he had always pushed it out of his mind when he thought of it.

Trying hard not to let his hand shake, he began copied the title onto his parchment and the continued fiddling with his quill.

"We are learning about vampires today!" Professor Dibble said excitedly. "Who can tell me what a vampire is?"

"A creature of the night that sucks blood of its victims," Lily Evans said. Sirius felt like snorting. "Creature" of the night. He was very much un-creature-like. Stupid girls and stupid books.

"Very correct you are, young girl," Dibble said. "Erm, five points to, er, Hufflepuff."

"Gryffindor," Lily corrected awkwardly.

"Yes, of course," Dibble said. "Vampires are creatures of the night. In fact, they can only come out in the night because they will burn to a crisp in the sun!"

Sirius shook his head. Myths. All myths. It was good though – it took the suspicion off of him and his family.

"What kills a vampire?" Dibble asked.

"A stake?" Michael Applebee from Ravenclaw said.

"Oh no, silly boy," Dibble replied, waving him off. "They can eat steaks but if will not kill them. To kill a vampire, you must stab it through the heart with a wooden cross."

Sirius heard Remus snigger next to him. "He considers himself a Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher yet he doesn't know that a wooden cross is a stake?"

"Oh, young man!" Professor Dibble said, eyes wide. "No talking!"

"Sorry," Remus mumbled.

"Yes, um, five points from Hufflepuff."

Remus nodded. Of course he wouldn't tell the teacher he was in Gryffindor if he was losing house points.

"Another way to kill a vampire is to burn it. Not with the sun, though," Dibble giggled. "That would be silly. No, with fire!"

The teacher let out a loud sigh. "I am watching all of you right now and none of you are writing. Come on, let's not be silly, huh? Let's write this down because you need to know it! This _is _school, after all. Am I right, huh?"

Sirius started writing even though it pained him to write down false facts.

"Ah yes, hurry now," Dibble said impatiently as they wrote. "Next thing about vampires is that they kill their victims – poor old souls – by draining them of all blood. Disgusting, huh?"

Again, Sirius tried not to snort at this "vampire fact". No, they did not drain people of all blood. Artery blood and vein blood had very different tastes. It was like sweet and savory. You wouldn't eat a chocolate bar with chicken. It just wouldn't taste good. No, vampires drank as much as they pleased, from whichever vessel they pleased. Sirius also had to argue the fact that it was "disgusting" – he thought it was quite delicious.

"Vampires cannot mate," Dibble said. "This means they can't have children. Which is great for all of us because it means they aren't that common."

Sirius wrote down "can't mate", feeling more and more annoyed. Of course they could. Otherwise he wouldn't exist. Vampire males could mate with humans. In his family it was tradition to have children, and then turn the mother into a vampire after she has given birth to her last child.

"So, children! Who can tell me how you become a vampire?"

"You need to be bitten by one," Snape said.

"Oh yes, very well. Yes. Five points to Hufflepuff!"

"Slytherin, Sir," Snape said.

"Yes, sure thing. So the only thing left to learn is how to recognise a vampire. Does any of you know any of the features of a vampire?"

The class was silent this time.

"Well, that's because you've probably never seen one," Dibble said. "Not many people have. I am one of the lucky few, yes, I am. I saw a vampire once on Halloween. So anyway, the creatures is recognised mainly for the two sharp fangs. They also have very pale skin, red eyes and the one I saw on Halloween smelt like sweets."

"Sir, was that not a 'Trick or Treater'?" James asked, inducing laughs from the rest of the class.

"Nonsense, silly boy!" Dibble yelled. "Do not treat me as a fool. Ten points from Hufflepuff!"

"Poor Hufflepuff," Sirius muttered to Remus.

"So, oh yes, I missed one important point. Vampires also have one main enemy, which is not humans – humans are just food to them. Yes, unfortunately – poor souls. Who can tell me what vampires are most afraid of?"

"Werewolves," said Xenophilius Lovegood, the funny boy with the long blond hair.

"Oh yes, of course. Five points to Hufflepuff!"

"Ravenclaw," Xenophilius corrected.

"Yes yes, I know. Vampires are extremely scared of werewolves. I say, if you come across a vampire just tell them that you are a werewolf and the vampire will run away - and they run very fast - and leave you in peace."

This made Sirius angry. Vampires were certainly not scared of werewolves. If anything, werewolves should be scared of vampires.

"Anyway children, my voice is tiring," Dibble said. "Please complete the exercise on page thirty-eight as your homework. It is due in by next lesson."

"Sir, that's three rolls of parchment," Lily said. "And the next lesson is tomorrow."

Professor Dibble nodded. "Ah yes, so you better get started. You silly girl, I will not push the deadline for the fact that children are lazy. Yes, off you all go. I have other people to teach. Bye now."

Sirius closed his book and put it away in his bag. What a painful lesson that had been. Dibble's classes were always that way, but this had just been frustrating. He was glad that it over.

* * *

The rest of the day seemed to fly by – before Sirius knew it, he was sitting in the Gryffindor common room playing exploding snap with Peter and it was pitch black outside.

"Do you reckon Dibble was right about vampires smelling like sweets?" Peter asked, tossing a Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Bean in his mouth and grimacing. It had been a clear coloured bean, so Sirius highly suspected toenail flavour.

"It's a load of rubbish," Sirius said. "It was obviously somebody dressed up for Halloween."

"Good," Peter said. "The amount of sweets I eat, people might think I'm one and stake me."

"You don't smell like sweets, though," Sirius said. "You smell a bit of cheese though."

"That's disgusting," Peter grimaced again.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Sirius said. "I'm the one who has to live with you!"

"Not making fun of Peter, are we?" Remus said, sitting down next to him with James sitting down next to Peter.

"He says I smell like cheese," Peter said, looking annoyed. "Is that really true?"

"You don't smell of anything," James said.

Sirius suddenly realised he was probably being careless talking about scents. Peter probably didn't smell like anything, but Sirius could smell it because of his heightened sense of smell.

"No, Sirius. You're right. He does smell like cheese," Remus said. "Sorry, Pete," he added quickly.

Sirius let out a sigh of relief. At least he wasn't being as careless as he'd thought.

"Shouldn't we get started on our homework for Dibble?" Remus said.

"Not likely," James snorted. "I have Quidditch practice early tomorrow morning so I can't be staying up all night writing his stupid essay."

"Well if you're not doing it, I'm not doing it," Sirius shrugged.

"You'll both get detention," Remus warned. "Is three hours listening to Dibble lecture you on how silly you are really worth it? I'd just do it if I were you."

"I'll figure a way out of it," James said. "But I should probably get going to bed if I need to be up early. Night, guys."

Peter let out a loud yawn. "Wait up, I'm coming."

Sirius glanced at Remus, waiting for him to follow suit, but he didn't. "I have homework to do," Remus explained.

Sirius sighed and resigned to actually writing his essay. At the end of the day, it probably _was_ better than detention with Dibble.

* * *

After Sirius and Remus had finished their homework, they decided to stay down in the common room for a little longer. Most people had already turned in, so there were only a few other students dotted around the room.

"Remus, what's on your mind?" Sirius asked, noticing Remus's thoughtful expression.

"Hm? Just thinking."

"About?"

"Things," Remus said.

"So you don't want to tell me?" Sirius asked.

Remus glanced at Sirius and frowned. "I do want to tell you, but I can't."

"Why?"

"It's complicated," Remus said in a tired voice. "What's on _your_ mind?"

"Same," Sirius smiled. "Complicated."

Remus smiled back and nodded. "I trust you, Sirius. I really do want to tell you."

"Then tell me," Sirius said softly. "Like you said, you can trust me."

Remus sighed and Sirius could sense that he was incredibly nervous. He was acting a little different than usual. He couldn't keep his eyes focused on Sirius for longer than ten seconds, and he was fidgeting with his fingers. He kept licking his lips nervously.

"Please don't think any differently of me, will you?" Remus said quietly.

"Of course not," Sirius said.

"I'm… gay."

Sirius wasn't confused, or even shocked. When he thought about it, it wasn't that strange at all. Remus had never shown any interest in girls. He had never insinuated that he wanted a girlfriend.

"That's cool with me," Sirius said. "I'm glad you told me."

Remus looked relieved beyond belief. "Thanks Sirius. I was so scared you'd hate me."

"Trust me, I could _never_ hate you," Sirius said. "You're my best friend."

"And you're mine," Remus replied with a smile.

"So, who do you fancy?" Sirius asked.

Remus laughed. "Oh, that's a confession for another night," he said. "I'm not ready to tell you that yet."

"Ah, fine," Sirius said. "I'll have all night to think it out."

"Aren't you going to sleep?"

_Crap_. "Oh, yeah. I mean, if I get tired. I'm having one of those nights where I don't feel tired."

"That must be annoying," Remus said. "I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't get to sleep."

"I'm just used to it now, I guess," Sirius said. "It doesn't bother me."

"Well, speaking of sleep, I should probably get to bed," Remus said, standing up and stretching. "Goodnight, Sirius."

"Night," Sirius replied, watching as Remus walked off towards the stairs that led to their dormitory.

And now he was alone again until morning. Oh, how he loved night time.

**###**


End file.
